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Let’s write about Cheteshwar Pujara today. Let’s write
about him tomorrow. Let’s not forget to write about him on the day after that.
Let’s write about him on Thursday and on Friday too.

For, on Saturday, 12th January, you will be
unable to write about Cheteshwar Pujara. After five days, India will play
Australia in a one-day game. These five days are all you’ve got to toast the
man behind India’s first ever series victory in Australia.

What will you write about?

Whatever it is, make it no less than 1258 words.
That’s how many balls Pujara faced in the series. By the time he faced his 1258th
ball of the series, on the second day of the Sydney Test, he was on 193, India
418, overs bowled 130, the Aussie bowling on its knees.

Had Pujara already won India the series? Was there
anything left to play for, for India, for Australia? If rain had a mind, it
didn’t think so.

Or had Pujara already won it in Adelaide? When
Australia discovered they could eek out the openers early, but pricing out this
guy at three was like climbing one of those Giant Sequoia trees.

What was the first shot that Pujara played in the
series when he walked in at the fall of KL Rahul’s wicket in the third over.
3/1, beginning of the tour - What was it? Was it even a shot? Was it a
pokerfaced bat he offered? Did he leave the ball?

It was a dot ball. One of the many balls he would
offer a deadpan bat to.

A ball before India’s innings closed, Pujara was run
out trying to retain the strike. Before this though, he hurled India from 210/8
to 250/8 and himself from 89 to 123 in less than five overs – what, he even
entertained the cynics with sixes off Starc and Hazelwood.

India beat Australia by 31 runs at Adelaide.

In the second innings, the openers did Pujara a
disservice by making him wait 18.2 overs.

Cheteshwar
Pujara batted for 1702 minutes ie 28 hours, 22 minutes in this series! That is
like batting all by himself for an entire five-day Test match

***

Cheteshwar Pujara was Player of the match and series. He
was also a statistician’s delight. In more ways than one, he had outnumbered
Australia.

He did it by being true to himself and his batsmanship.
For a batsman whose Test average has hovered either side of 50 for most of his
career, to be brought under such constant scrutiny, says little about both the
captain and coach that decide on the final playing eleven.

This is as much Pujara’s victory against Australia as it is Pujara’s victory
against those that doubted him.

In the days that led to India’s series triumph, Virat Kohli said this of
Pujara -

“He has been a lot more flexible in altering his
game very quickly. From the last time he played in Australia, he has made a few
changes to his setup, and that’s working for him. He is embracing the fact that
if something has been told to him and he has to work on those things, he has
worked on it,”

Begs the question, why is ‘something’ never told to
Rohit, Rahul and Rahane? If so, why do they not work on those things?

While this will be Virat Kohli’s victory, and to
some extent even Ravi Shastri’s; it is a good time as any, to see how the
captain remodelled his game, making it almost akin to that of Pujara’s.

But nobody said - How Kohli ‘has been a lot more flexible
in altering his game very quickly’.

In between was Rishabh Pant, 350 runs at 58.33. The
second highest batting average was Mayank Agarwal’s – 65 for his 195 runs.

While Pant is 9 Tests old, Agarwal has played just
2. One is barely 21, the other 27.

Much like Pujara, neither Pant nor Agarwal are ODI
or T20I stars yet. They are all making an impact through Test cricket. It’s
unlikely either player will be fast-tracked into the squad for the World Cup
either.

Unlike Pujara however, both will turn up for their
IPL teams before the World Cup.

As for Pujara, it’s something of a blessing for
India, that he went unsold in the last IPL auctions. On return to India, he
will be playing in the Ranji Trophy. In the summer, he’ll be off to play County
cricket in England again.

This time however, no man in his right mind will
drop him for a Test match based on county form.

***

While much is being made of Pujara’s two left feet,
and the mock Pujara dance to celebrate the series win, it hardly does justice
to the batsman’s dancing abilities.

The phrase, ‘dancing down the track to spinners’
was made for Che Pujara.

Not since VVS Laxman, has an Indian batsman played
Australian spin with such skilful moves.

But that is cricket. Not post-match moves.

When he isn’t coming down the wicket to spin, he’s
standing there, tall, self-assured, the protector of a different realm – one
that could fall anytime.

But not on his watch. Is he the Last Test Batsman?

Only a few knew it. And even amongst those few,
there were those who wanted to unknow it.

***

Pujara will get you home. It’s just that he will
take the long way. And when you realise, for a series that started on December
6, and ended the following year on January 7; there’s only one way home – the
long way, Pujara’s way.

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